Twelve O'Clock High

See also Multimedia zines with Twelve O'Clock High stories.

Chronicles of the Flying Fortress #5

Stories include:

WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE by Jan Walker. Colonel Joe Gallagher tries to help a friend in a gallant favor and ends up under arrest.

Britt's eyes narrowed; he flourished his cane to return the salute and used it to tap the second chair at the battered table. "Sit down, Colonel," he said coolly. "You realize, of course, that I expect a pretty good explanation for this fiasco."
Gallagher sat obediently. "General," he responded shakily, I'm not sure I have one."

MIND GAMES by Laura Lee Mildon. Colonel Joe Gallagher is shot down and captured in Germany during a mission. Miraculously, he escapes. But what happened during his captivity and is he really the same man upon his return?

Joe shrank from the hand on his arm, knowing what it meant; several times he'd been jabbed with painful shots of a toxin that perpetuated the psychosis that ensnared him. "No. Please, no, not any more."
"Come, Colonel. Consider it your vitamin shot for the day."
Joe winced, feeling the needle enter his arm, and the serum within it burned like fire as it entered his bloodstream.

THE SHADOW WAR by Peggy Hartsook. General Frank Savage finds himself fighting a two front war. One on the frontlines and another at home against a mysterious enemy.

Savage handed the paper back. "This is meaningless drivel."
"Well, naturally, sir, all good soldiers think that —" Bennett started pompously.
Frank cut him off. "No, Major, you're not paying attention. This note rambles all over the place. �Go home, join the Reich and live in peace.' Its too disjointed."
Kemp gave him a steady stare. "May I ask what the General means?"
Savaged swallowed his annoyance. "I mean I don't think the Nazis are behind this."

SPARRING PARTNERS by Rindy Weatherly. Captain Kelly Prescott falls afoul of Colonel Joe Gallagher upon her arrival at the 918th . Will her infatuation with an unsavory fight pilot not only sabotage her career but endanger Joe Gallagher's life?

"Colonel, Captain Prescott is here to see you. She says it's urgent."
Gallagher's sigh was audible. "All right, Harvey. Send her in."
His office smelled of cigarette smoke and strong coffee and recon photos were scattered across his desk. Gallagher returned her salute and inquired in a weary tone, "What is it now, Captain?"
"It's Jake, sir. Major Richards. He's going to try and kill you on tomorrow's mission."

A NARROW LINE by Jan Walker. Sergeant Sandy Komansky and Captain Bob Fowler are shot down on a mission and taken prisoner. There they meet someone they thought long dead — and wonder what happened to their pilot, Colonel Gallagher?
Komansky searched the compound as he marched slowly into the camp. He couldn't have been mistaken. His eyesight was 20-20. There was no way he could be wrong about what he'd just seen. And, damnit, he wasn't wrong!
"It's impossible," he muttered. He dropped Blake's arm and ran into the compound. "General Savage!" He called. "General, we thought you were dead!"
His delight turned to angry confusion when a major grabbed his arm, yanked him around and hissed, "Shut up, you stupid fool!"

BLESS THEM ALL by JJJunky. Colonel Joe Gallagher faces an inquiry over his decision to abort a bomb run during a crucial mission. Clouding the issue even more, Gallagher was severely wounded during the mission and no one else knows the reason why he did it.

"Our guys died trying to take out those oil fields and what does Gallagher do?" Billings sneered. "He leads the rest of the group around the worst of the flak, doesn't even bother to drop his bombs and won't let anyone else."
"I would be surprised if Hitler doesn't give him the Iron Cross," Wheeler bitterly added.
Ed Britt winced. He had hoped to find justification for Gallagher's actions. Instead, he found condemnation and more fuel for Pritchard's fire.